In an interview with Shana, Mohammad Reza Akbari pointed to the visit of the president and some government ministers, including the oil minister, to China, and said: “This trip was essential for us from the economic point of view and especially the issues related to the energy field.”

He added: “China is an energy-consuming country and Iran can cooperate with China in this sector due to good political and economic relations with China. In other words, using the investment capacity of Chinese companies in the energy field can lead to the ineffectiveness of sanctions and improvement of the country's economic conditions.”

This expert on energy issues stated: “Since the driving engine of China's economy is the energy sector and Iran also has stable sources of energy, we can easily meet this need of China.”

President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi along with a delegation from Iran at the invitation of the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and in order to consolidate and develop the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, from 14 to 16 February 2023 made a state visit to China. During the meeting between the heads of the two countries, the parties exchanged views on various bilateral and multilateral issues, including the energy sector.